Former New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien this week led two meetings of between 40 and 50 conservative House members and activists prior to the defeat of the current House leadership’s budget.

The Mont Vernon Republican said in an interview Friday that his role in House votes that killed the budget put forward by the House Finance Committee is being overblown by critics, but he said that if current speaker Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, considers him an “outside influence,” he’s not upset with that description.

“I know that with the current House leadership, all things should begin and end with them,” O’Brien said. “But yes, there are sometimes people outside of the State House who may have an opinion.”

Hosting one of the meetings was Greg Moore, state director of Americans for Prosperity and O’Brien’s former chief of staff, at the AFP Manchester office. The other meeting was held down the hall from the AFP office, at the former Donald Trump campaign headquarters.

Moore said in a separate interview that in addition to members of the recently formed New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus, among those who attended were Ed Naille, chairman of the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers; Spec Bowers of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire; Ray Chadwick and David McConville of Granite State Taxpayers, and Karen Testerman of First Principles.

“We had every single right-of-center economic group represented,” Moore said. “Maybe it was the vast right-wing conspiracy that Hillary Clinton talked about.”

“From my perspective, the purpose of the meeting was to figure out how to get to a ‘yes,’” Moore said. “It was an effort to try to be constructive.”

O’Brien, who was the House speaker from 2010-2012, said the Freedom Caucus members asked him to meet with them and give them advice.

After the first meeting, Freedom Caucus members joined with other Republicans on Wednesday to kill the Republican leadership budget. A total of 66 Republicans joined with defeat it, 220-134.

On Thursday, 32 Republicans joined with Democrats to kill the budget trailer bill, known as House Bill 2, on a roll call of 177-169. That vote clearly signaled that the House would not pass a budget that day, either, and Jasper had the House adjourn without passing a budget for the first time since at least 1969.

The state Senate on Monday will begin its lengthy process of developing, deliberating and voting on the budget.

In the House, the Freedom Caucus maintained the increase in state spending in the leadership-backed House Finance Committee budget – from a current level of $11.3 billion to a proposed $11.9 billion over two years – was excessive and should have been kept to the rate of inflation, as set out in the state Republican Party platform.

The group’s leaders also said the House GOP leadership budget essentially hid $200 million in expected federal funds.

Jasper supporters this week have been accusing O’Brien of pulling the strings behind the scenes among conservatives. O’Brien said that’s not the case.

A staunch conservative who was known for his outspoken and blunt ways during his tenure, O’Brien won the House GOP caucus for speaker in 2014, but then lost to Jasper in the final election for speaker. Jasper won by attracting the support of the entire Democratic caucus and about 60 Republicans. That turn of events spawned a rift that apparently has not healed.

“Thanks to the many members who attended last night’s meeting and to all of those who weren’t able to make it, but said they join the effort to achieve a fiscally responsible budget,” O’Brien wrote Wednesday in an email, which carried the subject line, “Thanks for Attending: Stand Tough.”

“You have the critical mass to require a budget that fulfills the commitment that the NH Republican Party has made in its platform to ‘limit the growth of state spending to not more than the rate of inflation plus population growth.’ If you ignore the threats, warnings and ultimatums, and if you stand together and tough, you will prevail.”

After the Thursday vote and House adjournment, O’Brien emailed the group, writing, “Congratulations to House conservatives who stuck to their principles and insisted on a fiscally responsible budget.” WMUR political reporter Adam Sexton posted the email on Twitter.

In the aftermath, a frustrated Jasper was asked at a news conference if he believed O’Brien had a role in the defeat of the budget.

“I don’t want to talk about individuals,” Jasper said. “But there were clearly outside influences who were ginning up members to vote no. There’s no question about that, and that’s unfortunate.” View our report here.

O’Brien, however, said it’s the speaker’s job to talk to House members and to unite the caucus.

“I’m really surprised that the speaker and his leadership team did not meet their obligation to come up with a budget,” O’Brien said. “This (budget) legislation is no different than any other. If you want it to pass, you have to draw together a majority and you have to accommodate people who you may be displeased with and incorporate their interests.”

“No matter what (Jasper’s) argument is, and no matter his degree of being peeved at the Freedom Caucus, his obligation was to continue to talk and not to take a test vote and then fold up his tent and go home. It was startling.”

O’Brien said that Rep. JR Hoell, R-Dunbarton, a Freedom Caucus leader, “came to me and said, ‘We have some real concerns that the budget spends more than the rate of inflation.’ And I answered their questions and helped them out on their effort to have their voices heard.”

O’Brien said there was nothing untoward about a group of people meeting to discuss public policy and upcoming legislative action.

And as for Jasper’s allegation regarding “outside influences,” he said, “This is New Hampshire. When I was in the House, every time I’d go to the post office and general store, there would be so-called ‘outside influences’ advising me, as well they should have. They were my constituents. They were citizens of New Hampshire.”